Course Teaching Feedback

Course teaching feedback surveys use standardised questionnaires, which are formally reviewed and revised by the University’s Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Committee (TLSEC).

Personalised or customised questions are not permitted in these surveys.

For a comprehensive list of the questions, refer to Section 9 of the Procedure.

SECaT surveys

SECaT surveys are administered for every course with 5 or more (≥5) enrolments each time it is taught, and for every lecturer with a Threshold Teaching Load (defined in Section 8 of the Procedure) on a course entered in UQ’s curriculum management system (i.e. Jac). 

For courses with multiple scheduled classes, surveys may be merged if certain classes have fewer than five enrolments. For details on merged surveys, contact evaluations@uq.edu.au.

SETutor surveys

SETutor surveys are administered at the course level with 5 or more (≥ 5) enrolments, with 1 SETutor evaluation per Tutor (defined in Section 8 of the Procedure), per course. This includes where the Tutor delivers multiple tutorials/laboratories across different modes of instruction for one course. 

To mitigate survey fatigue, a SETutor survey should not be administered for a staff member if they are evaluated as a lecturer in a SECaT survey for the same course during the same evaluation period (please refer to para 19 of the Procedure).

For courses with fewer than five students enrolled, SECaT and SETutor surveys are not generated. In such cases, refer to the Assuring and Enhancing Course and Teaching Quality Guideline for informal feedback tools that allow for customised question sets. Data collected through these tools are for personal feedback purposes and are not reported through formal mechanisms such as UQ Reportal or included in the Individual Academic Profile (IAP).

Increasing response rate

Listen to how other UQ teaching staff improve their SECaT response rate

Listen to how other UQ teaching staff encourage constructive student feedback

To encourage student participation in surveys:​

• Advance Notice: Inform students about upcoming online evaluations and encourage them to check their student email accounts and the 'Have Your Say' module on Learn.UQ (Blackboard) during the evaluation period.​

• Purpose Communication: Explain the significance of evaluations and their role in enhancing teaching quality. Utilise promotional materials, such as the slide with the QR code.

• Class Time Allocation: Allocate class time for students to complete evaluations using their own devices. This approach has been associated with higher response rates.

Key message communicated with students

The following message can be used to communicate with your students:

Staff will receive an email with their course teaching feedback reports on the Monday following the official release date of final grades each semester, as specified in the UQ academic calendar. Before reviewing these reports, consider consulting the SECaT Reading Tips for guidance on interpretation.​

To maintain confidentiality, evaluation reports are only distributed when a survey meets the reportable data threshold of five or more responses. Quantitative results of all course evaluations from 2015 to the current semester are available for staff and students. Results can also be accessed via UQ Reportal. To request access, submit an online form. Links to various reports available for download from UQ Reportal are provided on the course and teaching reports webpage.

The process for redacting or removing student comments is outlined in Paragraph 37 to 38 of the Procedure. 

The University will ensure that all data is collected and managed in accordance with University policies and relevant privacy laws, including the Information Privacy Act 2009 (QLD).

UQ is not to provide information that will identify a student who responds to the SECaT or SETutor survey unless required elsewhere in the Procedure or by law.

Students are requested not to self-identify and student identities remain confidential and are not released to teaching staff. However, if the student does self-identify, teaching staff are not to contact individual students about their responses to SECaT and/or SETutor surveys.

The identity of students remains confidential within SSET. Student identities are not disclosed to individual staff.

Refer to the Procedure for more details.

For any enquiries regarding course teaching feedback surveys, please contact the UQ Student Surveys and Evaluations Team (SSET): evaluations@uq.edu.au